Hawai`i Attempts Record For Largest Group Hug
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Behind key support from Lt. Governor Aiona and more than 7,000 people in Honolulu, an 11-year-old student from Punahou School led Hawai`i's attempt Saturday to break the world record for the largest group hug.
Ashley Kakazu addresses the crowd gathered for the largest group hug.
Seventh-grader Ashley Kakazu’s idea coincided with a deployment ceremony and hunger rally at Aloha Stadium, where a public send-off was held for 1,700 Hawai‘i Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers who are being deployed within the next week to Kuwait and Iraq.
Families and friends of the troops turned out in mass to break the current Guinness World Record of 6,623 huggers set two years ago in Mexico. The record-breaking hug followed the deployment ceremony led by Governor Linda Lingle.
Everyone who attended was asked to bring canned food donations to help the Hawai‘i Food Bank continue to serve 131,862 different people annually. Among the hungry in Hawai‘i, 32 percent are choosing between food and rent, while 27 percent must decide between food and their medical needs, according to the Hawai‘i Food Bank.
With key help from the Lingle-Aiona Administration and the Hawai‘i Food Bank, Ashley has been organizing the group hug and campaign against hunger for more than a year, urging the public in promotional ads to “let’s break the world record together and spread aloha to the world.”
At a news conference with Ashley in July, Lt. Governor Aiona and Major General Robert Lee, adjutant general and director of state civil defense, announced plans to set the group-hug record at ceremony for deploying soldiers.
Families and friends of the troops turned out in mass to break the current Guinness World Record of 6,623 huggers set two years ago in Mexico. The record-breaking hug followed the deployment ceremony led by Governor Linda Lingle.
Everyone who attended was asked to bring canned food donations to help the Hawai‘i Food Bank continue to serve 131,862 different people annually. Among the hungry in Hawai‘i, 32 percent are choosing between food and rent, while 27 percent must decide between food and their medical needs, according to the Hawai‘i Food Bank.
With key help from the Lingle-Aiona Administration and the Hawai‘i Food Bank, Ashley has been organizing the group hug and campaign against hunger for more than a year, urging the public in promotional ads to “let’s break the world record together and spread aloha to the world.”
At a news conference with Ashley in July, Lt. Governor Aiona and Major General Robert Lee, adjutant general and director of state civil defense, announced plans to set the group-hug record at ceremony for deploying soldiers.
- "Guinness-size hug for troops," Honolulu Advertiser, August 17, 2008
- "A fond embrace," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, August 17, 2008
